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NYC to Launch the Nation’s Largest Bike Share Program in May 2013 Despite Damage Caused by Hurricane Sandy

Storm surge at NYC Bike Share’s Brooklyn Navy Yard facility damaged electrical components, though some bikes and hardware remained undamaged or can be restored or replaced

System will launch with 5,500 bikes at nearly 300 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) and bike share operator New York City Bike Share (NYCBS) today announced that because of damage to bike share equipment caused by Hurricane Sandy, Citi Bike will launch in May 2013 with at least 5,500 bikes implemented at 293 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The revised timeline was agreed to by all parties and will not impact the $41 million in private funding from Citi to underwrite the system, and with NYCBS profits to be split with the City during the six-year contract. Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge flooded NYCBS’s facility at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which sits along the East River, and where about two-thirds of the system’s equipment had been stored before the Oct. 29 storm. While portions of the system’s equipment were not significantly damaged, including bike frames and hardware, many parts of the system containing electrical components must have individual parts refurbished or replaced. NYCBS is currently working to identify, repair and replace these damaged parts, aided through insurance and supplemented by equipment that wasn’t stored at the Navy Yard, as well as by additional equipment from its supplier and from elsewhere in the delivery pipeline.

“DOT has worked around the clock to restore vital transportation links following the storm and that includes putting Citi Bike on the road to recovery,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. “Despite the damage, New York will have the nation’s largest bike share system up and running this spring.”

The timeline will affect the phasing for neighborhoods in the initial launch area. The 5,500 bikes will be located in the densest and most geographically contiguous parts of the service area in Manhattan south of 59th Street and in Brooklyn as work continues to extend to 7,000 bikes in the remaining parts of the Brooklyn service area and into Long Island City, Queens, by the end of 2013. Details will be announced as planning continues. And while planning is underway to launch the initial system in May, we remain committed to bringing the system to 10,000 bikes.